


It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better

by somethingfamiliar



Series: Treacle Tart & Green Apples [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Dark Magic, Dementia, F/F, F/M, M/M, Memory Loss, Morning Sickness, Mpreg, Omega Narcissa Black Malfoy, Pregnancy, Protective Blaise Zabini, Scenting, St Mungo's Hospital, Worried Harry Potter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:49:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25309282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somethingfamiliar/pseuds/somethingfamiliar
Summary: Draco struggles through a new set of challenges, Harry beside him throughout, but there are some times that Draco's Alpha just can't be there.*** This part includes a bit of gore, a character death and Draco practically losing it when Harry fingers him. Read at your own discretion. ***
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Luna Lovegood/Ginny Weasley
Series: Treacle Tart & Green Apples [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1001160
Comments: 11
Kudos: 110





	It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better

Harry opened his mouth to speak, then decided otherwise and closed it again. Draco stared at him.

“S-say something?” He pleaded quietly, waiting for Harry to give him some sort of response as they sat together on the cold bathroom floor, chest to back with the stench of Draco’s vomit filling the air. The silence went on.

“You-you’re pregnant.” Harry repeated, swallowing dryly and waving his hand to vanish the puke. Draco nodded, turning his head to look at Harry again, not really wanting to see his expression, but it felt like the right thing to do, “Okay, well-”

“Don’t- just stop, Harry.” Draco sighed under his breath, “Don’t try and make this better. Let’s just go back to bed.” He spat once more into the toilet bowl before pulling out of Harry’s arms and standing shakily on his feet as his leg had gone dead. Harry was frozen in place, staring blankly in front of himself until Draco nudged him with his foot.  _ How on earth could Draco think about going back to bed right now? _

“You’re pregnant.” Harry mumbled again, eyes glazed as he stared ahead of himself. Draco crouched back down, wrapping his arms around himself to stay warm,

“Yes, now, will you please get up so we can go back to bed?” Draco asked impatiently and Harry was nodding resolutely, standing to his feet and guiding them back to bed. Harry cast a warming charm over him as they pulled the covers up, the January air chilling Draco’s bones as he lay shivering beside Harry.

“Shouldn’t you take a test or- or something?” Harry asked dumbly, nestling down under the sheets and slinging an arm around Draco’s waist as they lay across from one another. Draco gave him a look,

“I don’t really need to, try and cast a sonogram amplifier and we’ll be able to tell right away.” Draco lifted the sheets so he wouldn’t have to leave his warmth again as Harry hesitantly reached for his wand. When he turned back Draco had his hand resting lightly against his bare stomach, flat and toned just like it’d always been. He couldn’t be pregnant, there was no way. Harry followed Draco’s hand movements as he cast a sonogram over his stomach, a gentle hand resting on Draco’s hipbone, then- two heartbeats as clear as day. Presumably Draco’s and a tiny life inside his belly, a child,  _ their _ child.

The following day had Draco on the bathroom floor again with his head in the toilet bowl. Harry had called St. Mungo’s Potion department to say he wasn’t feeling well and had been immediately faced with Draco giving him a dirty look and an ‘I could’ve gone’ lecture. Teddy was in their bed playing with a charm Draco had set him as Harry ran back and forth between the bathroom and the bedroom before Draco intervened,

“Harry, just calm down, I’m fine. We don’t need to see a Healer just yet, stop freaking out.” Draco chided for the last time, hair mussed and tangled across his forehead as he lay his cheek on his forearm across the toilet seat, “Just stay with me awhile. Bring Teddy in.” Harry nodded, grabbing Teddy from their bed and placing him on the floor, the charms following him as he crawled around.

“Is there anything I can do?” Harry sat across from Draco on the floor, cradling his face and running his thumb across his cheekbone. Draco shook his head, leaning into the soft caresses as his eyes closed wearily. His skin seemed almost translucent in this light.

“‘M just tired.” Draco mumbled against his arm, sighing as Harry ran his hands into his mess of hair. Harry hummed his understanding, 

“Do you still feel sick?” He asked, reaching behind himself to steady Teddy’s legs as he pulled himself up onto his feet using Harry’s t-shirt.

“Mhm,” Draco hummed, nodding his head slightly before he fell still again, hand clutching at his stomach, “Stupid Alpha.” Draco grumbled under his breath, a smirk twitching at the corner of his lips and Harry was raising an eyebrow skeptically.

“Huh?” He asked, watching as Teddy shuffled back on to his knees to crawl towards the shower with interest.

“‘S all your fault.” Draco elaborated, eyes so heavy with sleep that he hadn't even managed to open them again during the entire conversation. Harry chuckled softly in realisation, rubbing his thumb along Draco’s temple,

“I know, baby, I know. I’m sorry.” Harry continued, smiling sadly at Draco’s appearance. He looked drained, face grey and skin translucent, lips parched and cracked as he slumped over the toilet seat with Harry’s oversized hoodie on as he’d said it was the warmest and smelt most like him out of all his clothes. Harry sighed, moving slowly to take Draco into his arms and carry him back to bed, transfiguring a lamp into a small trash can at Draco’s bedside and humming for Teddy to follow him.

“The sheets-” Draco began tiredly, but Harry was shushing him, stroking his hair back from his eyes as he settled into the pillows. 

“It’s fine, if a strong  _ scourgify _ won't do it then I’m sure there are plenty of other sheets we can find. There’s a trash can next to your bed, just rest for a while, okay?” Harry said softly, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead before lifting Teddy onto his hip and leaving the room. Draco hated how needy he felt right now, he hated that he didn’t want Harry to leave him all alone and he hated himself even more for almost putting himself before Teddy. He was sure that Harry could feel some of his self-loathing through the bond, it was embarrassing. The bedroom door opened again, but Draco didn’t bother to open his eyes, simply nestling his face into Harry’s pillow, inhaling his scent. 

“Mason’s taking care of Teddy for a few hours. He said that your mother didn’t like to be left alone when she had morning sickness.” Harry’s voice sounded clearly throughout the room as he crawled back under the sheets to face Draco, “I’m sorry, you’re right, it is my fault. If- if you want to- if you don’t want another baby just yet, I won’t be angry with you.” Harry fumbled through, trying to sound steady and put together in the quiet of their room. Draco drearily opened his eyes, lips quirked up a tiny bit,

“We’re not going to do that.” Draco mumbled, addressing the unspoken as Harry looked at him lovingly, sympathetically. Draco had to close his eyes. 

“Okay, but it’s your choice, Draco. I’ll be here, no matter what.” Harry said softly, sighing as Draco whimpered at his words, “Come here.” He mumbled, pulling Draco into his arms and letting him nestle his face into Harry’s chest. 

“I didn’t- I didn’t think this would all happen so fast.” Draco admitted under his breath, trying his best to hold back his tears as he curled his fingers into Harry’s sweater, “I thought- I thought it’d be different. I thought my mother would be here and that we’d be…  _ married _ or something. I didn’t plan for this all to happen so soon.” Draco went on, Harry letting him talk, holding him close. 

“We can get married too, if that’s what you want?” Harry asked softly, making Draco giggle mutedly into his chest.

“No, we’re not getting married because you knocked me up, I will not be pregnant in wedding robes.” Draco leant back an inch to stare up at Harry with a faraway look, “I just thought it’d be different. I thought I’d do things in the right order, but I never really had much luck with that, I guess.” He blinked slowly, hiding his face back in Harry’s chest and curling his legs up as another wave of nausea shot through him. 

“Well, let’s think, now we have another baby on the way, maybe it’ll give us a kickstart to getting the Manor back in order. South Wing is all yours, right? Well, we can start with your wing first, then West, but I think we’re going to need some help if we’re doing the entire manor.” Harry smiled, but Draco was quiet in thought for a moment, pursing his lips and pulling back to look at Harry. They were quiet for a while until Draco spoke up shakily, voice barely audible,

“I think- I think I’m ready to sort out East Wing.”

When Draco was young, he’d known every square inch of the Manor, had known every shortcut, every twist and turn in the corridors and every dent in the stairway banisters that lead towards the great dining hall. He’d known the gardens and the floo points and the sound of the clock that struck three distinctive times whenever anyone holding a dark mark stepped over the Manor’s threshold. He knew this place like it was home, but since bringing Harry back, since returning after Hogwarts- after the war- it felt like a prison. Everything had screamed  _ danger _ when he’d first brought Harry back with Teddy and Draco still found himself unconsciously waving away signs of his father’s occult, subtly transfiguring titles on the spines of books to make them seem less morbid than they really were,  _ anything _ and  _ everything _ he could do to make Harry feel safe, to not make him feel afraid that they were living in a Death Eater’s house.

But that never changed the fact that the East Wing still loomed over them like a dark cloud. See, Draco had chosen the South Wing- his wing- and the West Wing to occupy during Harry and Teddy’s stay. As far as Draco could remember, there weren’t too many terrible things in those two wings- of course, one might find themselves staring down unexpected  _ No-Entry _ holograms or undoing a trapping spell made for intruders- but there had, so far, been nothing too terrible (except that one time Harry got caught in a body-binding trap and had waited for a house elf to find him).

And then there was East Wing. See, East Wing had been that sliver of the Manor that had Draco feeling fear, real, true fear that made your skin crawl and your teeth clench. East Wing was a place that’d developed as he’d grown- once, it’d just been for Lucius’ privacy, but young, impressionable Draco hadn’t cared too much. Besides, when Draco was young, there weren’t too many bad things that could happen in East Wing- Lucius was careful and the dangerous things usually happened outside the Manor at the Carrow’s home- but as Draco grew, the East Wing became more dangerous, less exciting and increasingly unappealing. Narcissa had come to him one morning during his summer break to tell him that various Death Eaters would be by to begin putting up wards around the East Wing and that he was now forbidden there unless directly asked. After the war he heard that a group of Aurors from the MInistry had been round to disable them, but Draco still had no intentions of going back there again. Besides, he’d need to use his Mark to disable the last layer of wards and it scared him more than anything to know what was behind those doors when he did use it. It’d be difficult to disable all of the traps laid in there and Harry wouldn’t even be able to help until they were all finished. He was the only one with the Mark, he was the only one who could fix it and he just wanted that last memory of his father gone. That would be enough.

A month later, Harry stood beside Draco with Teddy on his hip in front of the Manor, the Weasley family- and their other halves- Blaise and Pansy all standing in front of them. Hermione was drowned in a thick knitted sweater, covering her tiny bump that’d barely started showing and Draco was hoping he’d get a chance to ask her how she’d done such a good job of hiding it, since he’d be needing tips sooner or later. In fact he was already starting to show the tiniest bit, Harry had even stood in front of him that morning with his hands on his abdomen, staring in wonder. Draco shook the reminder from his head,

“Okay, I won’t lie, it’s going to be a lot of work. West and South Wing are our safest places right now, but even they need checking and redecorating. There are plenty of rooms, so please take your pick and just call if you have any questions, I expect that most of the books will just need  _ vanishing _ . That is, unless any of you have a great interest in the Dark Arts?” He teased, laughing softly as they all looked mildly apologetic, “I guessed as much. There are plenty of house elves around as well, Mason is our head house elf, so don’t hesitate to call him, he’s quite excited to be having so many guests.” Draco smiled, taking Teddy from Harry’s arms as he began to cry, hair changing into soft blonde locks. 

“Come on, let’s get inside.” Harry ushered, stepping aside and guiding Draco in with a hand on his lower back, the rest of them following after.

“We should  _ not _ have invited her.” Draco whispered under his breath, flashing a fake smile at Pansy who was looking between the Weasley’s in mild confusion and slight disdain.

“Play nice, Draco, I’m sure it won’t be that bad.” Harry teased quietly, squeezing his waist as they made it through the entry hall- where Harry conveniently reminded himself that he’d fucked Draco on that long, mahogany table- and towards the main hall where Mason met them with a pleased smile.

“Simple enough, N for North, E for East, etc.” Draco waved his hand to show the transparent letters he’d prepared at the corridors, “East Wing is off limits for now, Harry and I still need to take down some wards before going in and I don’t want any of you getting hurt. Feel free to take any rooms in the South or West Wings, there should be enough for all of you.” Draco smiled, gesturing to the South and West corridors and trying to ignore Harry’s scoff at the understatement of how many rooms there were between those two wings.

“Ours and Teddy’s room is in South and if there are any problems, just send a Patronus, God knows how many times I’ve gotten lost in these corridors.” Harry added, guiding some of them down South and Draco taking the others down West, “Settle in first and we can all eat together this evening.”

Draco smiled at Hermione’s marvelling at their temporary bedroom, Ron unpacking the cases beside them.

“Wow, this is amazing! It’s so much better than I expected.” She smiled, staring out over the grounds. Draco smiled sadly, knowing that Hermione had only really suffered the misfortunes of East Wing.

“Well, I must admit, I did think about burning the damned place down for a while, but it was my home. I grew up here and I didn’t really want to waste such a beautiful place because of our family’s mistakes.” He said softly, crossing his arms over his chest and staring out over the moor, “I’m hoping we can weed out all the bad parts, I’m sick of it. I want it to feel like home, like a real  _ family _ home.” He went on, flicking his wrist to add something else to his list of things that needed doing. Hermione eyed the cursive writing for a moment,

“Those wards, Draco, are you really sure it’s safe?” She finally spoke up. Harry had said how worried he was when they’d first brought it up, but it felt more real now and standing next Draco, a pregnant Omega, wasn’t making her happy to know he would willingly be going into a place like that. Especially as she knew the horrors of it all. Draco sighed,

“I don’t really have much of a choice. I’d rather get it sorted now than when we have two little ones wandering around the Manor. Besides, you’re all right here if anything happens and I’m sure that I’ll be able to undo it, it was just my father’s work, not Bellatrix’s, thank god.” He explained, Ron coming to join them at the window.

“Yes, but you’re still pregnant, Draco. If something happens to you then it also happens to-” Ron began, but Hermione was staring at Draco in confusion.

“Y-you- what about Teddy?” She asked a little shell-shocked, but Draco was frowning in response.

“What do you mean ‘what about Teddy’?” He asked in confusion, pulling his sleeves over his hands as it slipped up to reveal the glamour that covered his Mark.

“Well, you said you’d rather get everything done now than when you had two little ones wandering around. What about Teddy? He’ll still be little- are you- are you giving him up…?” Hermione asked, stress crossing her expression, but Draco was frowning harder, shaking his head frantically.

“No, I meant two- one,” Draco pointed to his stomach, “And Teddy, two.” He was frowning at Hermione in shock, “There’s no way we’re giving him up! He’s ours, we fought for him, remember, he’s-”

“But Harry said when you cast a sonogram you heard two heartbeats.” Ron said flatly, his confused expression mirroring Hermione’s now, but Hermione was suddenly raising her eyebrows and guiding Draco to sit down.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” Draco asked in exasperation as Hermione lifted her sweater an inch and nodded for Ron to cast a sonogram charm on her.

“Listen,” Hermione mumbled, everything going quiet for a moment until the sound of one steady heartbeat pattered gently in the silence, “Now cast a full body sonogram.” She mumbled to Ron, watching Draco’s expression carefully as the sound of two heartbeats broke through the silence.

“What are you saying? He cast the wrong sonogram?” Draco asked with a furrow between his brows, but Hermione was shaking her head and cutting in quickly as Ron disabled the charms, her sweater falling back into place.

“Can I?” She asked, reaching for the hem of his sweater and Draco felt anxiety pool in his chest before he nodded willingly. She cast the charm and the sonogram appeared in front of them, two steady heartbeats, one significantly louder than the other, just like how he'd heard with Harry, “Now, a full body sonogram.” Hermione added, flicking her wrist again until a new chart showed up in front of them and a third heartbeat was heard and then Draco understood.

“You’re having twins, Draco.” Ron said softly, looking at Draco with a careful expression. Draco swallowed, pulling his sweater back in place and staring at his hands in his lap, suddenly breathless.

“I- I think we should call Harry.”

Harry paced their bedroom, Teddy settled for the night, but him and Draco hadn’t managed to so much as eat and it was already past eleven. 

“How were  _ we _ the last ones to know?” Draco asked in exasperation, hiding his face in his hands as he sat on the edge of the bed, “God, I’m going to be huge and need to pee every five minutes and the morning sickness will last longer and-”

“Draco, hey, shh, it’s going to be fine.” Harry soothed, stopping his pacing to kneel in front of Draco, hold his hands and get him to look at him, “This isn’t so bad, it’s just an extra surprise.” Harry tried, but Draco was staring at him, still visibly distressed about the whole ordeal.

“Yes, an extra surprise that I have to carry in my body for nine months, that’s going to make me fat and ugly and give me stretch marks and  _ more _ scars.” Draco grumbled, but he didn’t really mean it, he was actually pretty excited about twins, it just would’ve been nice to be the first one to know. Seeing as  _ he’s _ the one carrying them, “Are we going to be bad parents? Are we going to end up like my parents? What if one of them turns out like Volde-” 

“Draco, our children are not going to turn out like Voldemort, okay? We’re not bad parents, we haven’t dropped Teddy even once and we’re wolves, it’s more complicated than normal.” Harry tried to soothe, justifying their reason for not knowing about the twins earlier. Draco sighed again, laying back on the bed and pulling his hands from Harry’s to run through his hair and settle on the mattress near his head. Harry stood, staring down at him hungrily before composing himself.

“I guess so,” Draco hummed and Harry couldn’t help himself from crawling over Draco’s body, staring down at him as he caged him against the mattress, “What are you doing?” Harry smirked, leaning in to press a long kiss to Draco’s forehead, looking at him for a moment.

“We’re having twins, Draco.” Harry said, excitement creeping into his voice now that the initial shock was subsiding, “There’s going to be five of us.” He added with a smile, but Draco was groaning, turning his face away with a half-smile.

“Don’t say it like that, five is a lot of people, Harry.” He grumbled, but Harry was laughing now, sliding down his body, pushing his hoodie up his chest to nose gently at Draco’s soft little bump. It really was barely there, but it was visibly different from his usual pale, toned abdomen that Harry was used to ravishing during Heats.

“Yes, but we’re going to be a family.” Harry mused, pressing a kiss to Draco’s navel and running his thumbs along Draco’s sharp hip-bones, “With three kids, Draco.” He went on, continuing his open-mouthed kisses when Draco twined his fingers into Harry’s hair, sighing in contentment at the attention.

“Don’t say that, I’m already panicking.” Draco mumbled in the most relaxed voice Harry had heard from him, it was pretty contradictory. Harry chuckled against his skin, nosing at his soft stomach before pressing a long kiss just below Draco’s navel.

“I know, I’m sorry.” Harry went on, leaning up to hover his mouth over Draco’s. They never really kissed outside of Heats, but it felt right to try it now and Draco felt it was right to close the last few inches, crashing their lips together and humming into Harry’s mouth. Harry reached a hand up to cup his face as he leant over him, being careful not to lean too heavily on his body as he kissed him slowly, lips trailing softly against one another. Draco’s hands found their way into the front of Harry’s sweater, pulling him in as he parted his lips for Harry to lick into his mouth. They pulled apart a moment later, Draco humming in his throat again, a pleased little sound that had Harry willing away an erection. Draco sighed, looking up at Harry expectantly,

“I’m hungry.”

Draco stood outside the final door that led to East Wing, Harry, Hermione and Ron all close behind. 

“We don’t have to do this if-” Ron began, but Hermione had a hand on his forearm to quiet him. Harry’s hand found its place at the small of Draco’s back,

“Do you really have to go in alone? Can’t you take down the wards for the Mark and then we can help?” Harry asked anxiously, the fluttering feeling of it curling uncomfortably in Draco’s chest and he was subconsciously reaching out through the bond to try and calm it. 

“It’ll take hours for me to take the wards down and, even then, I’m not even sure if I  _ can _ do it all. I’ll be okay, I’ll send a patronus if something happens and if I’m in there for longer than an hour then you can call the Aurors, okay?” Draco tried to reassure, but Harry didn’t like the thought of Draco going in and suffering whilst they waited out the hour until they could call the Aurors like they’d promised on. Harry sighed, eyes flashing to the door and back to Draco, nodding reluctantly,

“If you can’t send a patronus then call for us. I don’t like this, Draco.” Harry added under his breath, fingers curling possessively into Draco’s waist before pulling him in and kissing him softly, the same way he’d done the previous night. Draco sighed against his lips when they pulled apart,

“I’ll be back before you know it and we won’t even have to use this wing if we don’t want to, I just have to make sure it’s safe.” Draco rambled out, but Harry was soothing him, pushing his hair back from his eyes and letting him walk towards the door, away from Harry and Hermione and Ron. Away from safety. 

“Be careful, Draco.” Hermione called after him and Draco paused to smile at her weakly over his shoulder before pulling his sleeve up and removing the glamours. Then, he was gone. 

He appeared in a room he recognised, but it made his stomach turn all the same. A long stone table adorned the centre of the room and the tall chair at the head of it had Draco seeing figments he wished to bury a long time ago. He looked away, scanning the room and setting diagnostic charms over and over until he noticed any irregularities. He tried not to stay distracted by the memories for too long. 

Outside, Harry paced the corridor, Hermione and Ron sitting huddled together on the floor, casting their patronus’ to keep themselves distracted. 

“He’s pregnant, with  _ twins _ , I shouldn’t have let him go in there.” Harry ranted, “This was all my fault, I put this stupid idea in his head and now he’s going to end up hurt.  _ Fuck _ .” Harry went on, but Ron was at his side, gripping tightly at Harry’s wrists as he threatened to tear a chunk of his own hair out.

“Harry, calm down, you’d feel it if he got hurt, right?” Ron said softly and Harry realised he was probably right. He needed to stay sane enough to focus on even the slightest hint of discomfort through the bond. 

“But I can’t feel anything regarding the babies, I can just feel trivial things, like when he stubs his toe or when he feels anxious. It’s only there with extreme sensations and that means it’s bad, Ron! We might be too late if-” Harry began hysterically, but Hermione was dragging him down to the floor to sit beside her,

“Harry, if nothing’s happened yet then we’d better not worry. He’s probably losing his focus with the amount of anxiety you’re pumping through the bond, poor thing. Now calm down and remember that this affects him too.” She soothed, a hand subconsciously rubbing at her own stomach at the reminder of Draco’s pups. Ron shared a brief look with her before she went on, “Besides, if you do go in there, you’ll only end up hurting both of you through the bond. You don’t have a Mark, Harry, that’s practically walking directly into danger and Draco will have to put up with it too if you do that.” She chastised, gripping Harry’s thigh to stop him from bouncing it nervously. Ron sat across from them with his back against the wall,

“He’ll be okay, Harry. Hermione says he’s really good at his job at the Ministry, he knows what he’s doing.” Ron said slowly and Harry knew that, but it didn’t change the fact that he’d just willingly let his mate walk into the throes of death. God, he’d practically  _ encouraged  _ it. Harry stayed quiet and, from then on, they waited in stilted silence for Draco to return.

It was a near miss, but Draco was used to those by now. He’d been careful, really,  _ overly _ careful, but it still hadn’t been enough when it came to Bellatrix’s traps in the hall that led towards the basement. He’d accidentally tripped a spell and fallen through a ward, just quick enough to have his stomach turning, but he could counter-curse this just as easy and before he knew it he was sitting on the floor recovering with heavy breaths. He knocked his head back against the wall behind him, scrubbing his face with his hands as he composed himself as best as he could before standing again. They’d been here, all four of them had been here. Hermione had- Hermione had been  _ hurt _ here, he thought as he blinked at the polished wood floors. Now was not the time for flashbacks and definitely not the time for bad memories to start emerging. He stood again, unstable on his legs before he reached for his wand again and began removing the traps and wards to unlock the basement. It was easier to face the worst of it first- not that it’d been exactly  _ easy _ to look at that long stone table where Voldemort had once sat- where  _ he’d _ once sat- but the uneasy feeling was roiling in his stomach again and he wasn’t quite sure if it was his or Harry’s this time. He continued down the stairs, casting diagnostic charms over and over, undoing the realms of magic before continuing on, eyes sharp and alert as he entered the cellar where Luna, Ron and Harry had been held. It left an awful taste in his mouth to see it now. He worked quickly, undoing the lasting wards and severing the traps and charms before resolutely climbing back up to the fourth step and filling the entire basement with a thick black cement until there was nothing left. He could do without his kids stumbling down to a holding cell in the basement of their own home. He climbed the stairs until he’d reached the first floor again, the cement-like substance stopping at the threshold of the door, vanishing the frame and filling it into the wall seamlessly. And before he could think twice, he was transforming the hall- once holding so many bad memories- into a beautiful atrium, high walls opening up with light and filling the room with colour. It was a struggle of strength to muster a chandelier to hang from the center of the ceiling, an oak wood buffet table running down the middle of the room with enough chairs for everyone to eat together and Draco couldn’t help imagining all of the Wealsey’s gathered here for christmas. He tried not to smile too manically as he finished up with a few plants and furnishings in soft white and light grey. Before he knew it, he’d finished one whole room and he found himself back in the room with the stone table. He vanished it quickly, but something didn’t feel quite right, like he was being watched, like he wasn’t alone. His eyes caught a movement in the doorway he’d left ajar, leading back to the main corridor.

“H-hello?” Draco called out quietly, feeling stupid, but he didn’t know what else to do other than draw his wand and edge closer. There was no way someone was here, this place was empty, this place was  _ supposed to be empty _ . He pushed the door further open, scanning the corridor for any movement, but as far as he could see, there was no one there. Another noise scraped at his senses and if Harry couldn’t already feel the anxiety building through the bond, then Draco was sure he could feel it now. He braced himself, moving towards the first door down from his, but something caught his eye, a soft blue glow edging under the doorframe opposite. Draco took another step, silent, careful, until his fingers ghosted over the door handle and suddenly it was out of his reach, no longer under his fingertips as his eyes flashed up just quick enough to see a fellow Death Eater before he blacked out.

An hour had been and gone and Harry was dead-set on calling the Aurors when he heard a muffled scream from behind the door. Hermione’s eyes flashed to Harry, scanning his torso for any signs of pain or- God forbid- blood, but he seemed unharmed, desperately running for the door, but Ron was grabbing him around the middle before he could get close enough.

“Woah, there, Harry. Remember what Hermione said; you’ll only hurt him if you go in there. He’ll feel your pain of entering through the bond, you can’t do that to him. I’ll call the Aurors, just wait here, okay?” Ron soothed, using all of his strength as Harry fought against him and he knew that he wasn’t really listening, “Hermione, call the Aurors.” He gave her a look out the corner of his eye, watching as Ginny, Luna and Blaise appeared, running down the corridor towards them.

“What happened?” Ginny asked anxiously, looking at Ron incredulously as he held Harry back from the door.

“He’s not back.” Luna noted quietly, looking towards the door, then to her wrist watch, “He’s still not back.”

“I’m going in there.” Blaise said firmly, stepping forward with a furrow between his brows, but Ginny had a hand on his elbow.

“Y-you can’t, the wards are still up and-” She began, but he was pulling away, shaking as he stepped in front of Ron and Harry who had calmed down considerably.

“Look, Harry can’t go in because of the bond, but the worse that’ll happen if I go in is that I’ll trigger a few curses, pass out for a few hours and be done with it. It’s  _ Draco _ .” Blaise said matter-of-factly, turning the door handle before anyone could protest and then he was gone.

Blaise had experienced repelling wards once in his life- he’d gotten lost in Diagon Alley when he was younger and had seemed to have stumbled into a darker part of town. In an attempt at asking for help he had entered what seemed to have been a bookstore, but barely managed five steps before he stumbled to the ground and blacked out. He didn’t remember much else, only waking up in a hospital bed with a Mediwitch checking his vitals and his mother crying at his side. They said he’d been out for almost a full day.

He never expected to willingly be doing this again and he wondered if it’d feel different this time, wondered if he’d manage to find and help Draco before the effects kicked in, but as he stepped through the door, he felt… nothing. He ran down the corridor, wand in hand as he prepared for the nausea to hit him, but nothing came, everything felt normal. The sound of footsteps came from behind the door at the far end of the corridor, a blue glow seeping out onto the carpet and he didn’t hesitate to pull it open and throw an  _ Expelliarmus _ at the first person who came into view.

“Reach for it and I’ll take your arm off, Amycus.” Blaise grit out, watching as the figure in front of him tried his best to move, falling still and raising his hands at Blaise’s words. He quickly took note of his surroundings, Amycus Carrow standing in front of him, staring him down with a snarl on his lips, eyes flashing behind Blaise as Draco whimpered softly. Blaise cursed, casting a quick bodybind on the intruder and running to Draco’s side. He looked- God, Harry was going to kill someone- exhausted, hands and feet bound to the chair in a blue glow of rope, his mouth gagged with a cloth that smelled faintly of chemicals and Blaise was quick to tear it off.

“Why are you-?” Draco began as soon as his mouth was free from the rag, but Blaise was looking at him sternly, speaking over him.

“Why did you tell them that you hadn’t taken the wards down? Why did you come in here alone?” Blaise spat in frustration, running his fingers over Draco’s arms as he scanned his body for injuries.

“I didn’t want-”

“Draco, you fucking-” Harry was there, running into the room with a group of Aurors and Ron following after in a rush. Blaise stepped back as Harry leapt forward, gathering Draco up in his arms and holding him tightly, “Why did you lie? Why did you tell us that the wards were still up? You could’ve gotten yourself killed!” Harry sobbed into his neck, voice sounding rough and broken as he held him.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Harry,” Draco soothed, running his fingers into Harry’s hair as he scented him, trying his best to calm the Alpha down, “I took the wards down a while back, I just didn’t- I didn’t want to come in here before, I didn’t want you to see it how it was.” He mumbled, Blaise overhearing and sighing in understanding. Ron guided the Aurors out, Amycus in heavy shackles, the snarl still on his lips as he stared at Draco deviously.

“You stupid,  _ stupid _ , bastard.” Harry hiccuped into his neck, sniffing and holding Draco impossibly closer, “You should’ve just told me- God, I’ll kill that piece of shit. Are you sure you’re not hurt?” He added, pulling back again to look at Draco properly, taking in his exhausted appearance and feeling his heart drop to his stomach. Somewhere behind them an Auror was telling Ron about how the office’s floo password hadn’t been changed and that was how Carrow had gotten in, luckily he hadn’t known the ward password to leave East Wing. A group of Aurors were now checking the entire wing in case the same mistake had been made anywhere along the way. It was easy to miss one or two things when the Manor was as big as it was.

“Come on, let’s get you both out of here.” Blaise said quietly from the corner of the room. He looked a bit haunted, like he’d seen something he shouldn’t have, but Draco could understand that- what with Blaise’s eyes being trained on his slashed forearm, the faint remnants of his Dark Mark pulsing beneath it, “We still need to check the pups. I’m calling a Mediwitch.” He added, finally tearing his eyes away before guiding them down the corridor back out into the safety of South Wing.

The Mediwitch placed her wand aside as she lay her palm on Draco’s bare stomach, Harry repressing a growl. He was feeling excessively territorial since they’d left East Wing and even now, with Draco in their bed and a Mediwitch touching him in a place that was usually just for Harry, he felt worse. 

“Now, now, Alpha, let’s keep our tempers in check.” She tutted, giving Harry another sharp look before reaching for her wand again and Draco could feel his insides turning as he heard someone else address Harry like that. Neither of them were really feeling up to a visit from a Mediwitch right about now, but it needed to be done and they needed to know that the twins were safe after the whole ordeal.

“He’s fine, right? The babies, too?” Harry pushed, trying to move things along as quickly as he could to get Draco alone again. He just needed some time with his Omega, just them, together, wrapped up in each other’s scents.

“They’re fine, everything’s fine, although,” She paused, looking between them both as they inhaled sharply, “Calm down, I was just going to say that your little Alpha is taking up rather a lot of space in here. Have you been feeling any pain here, Draco?” The Mediwitch ran her eyes over the Sonogram before pressing her fingers onto Draco’s side, a pain sparking and it was evident that Harry hadn’t felt it.

“Y-yes, mostly at night.” Draco hissed, flinching at the contact and she was lifting her fingers away quickly, soothing the place with her hands.

“Hm, it’s expected in male Omegas. Your makeup is programmed to treat you like a woman in this situation, meaning your hips will widen, your chest will swell- everything like a normal pregnancy, but it seems your Alpha in here is trying to move things along quicker.” She paused, tapping his tiny bump, “The Omega is doing well, but not nearly as persistent to pull your hips apart. Just keep an eye on them, especially the Omega, the Alphas tend to steal their food sometimes.” She went on, Harry trying to mentally note everything she said as Draco had seemed to zone out, drifting in and out of sleep as his exhaustion hit him.

“How can we make sure that the Omega gets enough to eat?” Harry asked eagerly, linking his fingers with Draco’s over his stomach. The Mediwitch began packing her things away as she watched Draco settle down,

“Well, baby Omegas tend to prefer sweeter foods, natural sugars like bananas and strawberries are great for them, whilst the Alphas prefer earthier foods like broths and starchy soups.” She grabbed her small case, smiling at Draco, “But I think Draco will be just fine with these two, they’re already responsive which is a great sign for pups so young and Draco is more than healthy to birth an entire litter should he want to. Just remember to be gentle and if he continues to work throughout the pregnancy then he needs a late form for the morning sickness. I’m afraid it’s going to get worse before it gets better and the aches and pains deserve a nice soak in the tub before spending a day on your feet with potions. I’ll write a 10am start for you at the Ministry, it should be enough time for him to get settled.” She smiled warmly now and Harry felt his heart return to his chest, sighing as he followed her to the fireplace, leaving Draco to sleep.

“Thank you so much, we were so worried. I didn’t know you could tell so early on, but I guess it’s different with Alphas and Omegas. Thank you for everything.” He repeated, mirroring her smile before she gasped softly, a smile donning her face.

“Oh! I almost forgot!” She pulled an envelope from her pocket, “The sonogram photos so Draco can get a better look when he’s woken up.” She added, handing him the envelope before stepping into the fireplace and taking a handful of the floo powder Harry was offering and then Harry was alone with Draco. He hastily got back into bed beside him, slipping the envelope onto the bedside table for when he’d woken up,

“You scared me half to death today, Draco.” Harry mumbled into his hair as he pulled Draco to his chest, spooning his body from behind, “God, I thought something had happened to you.” Harry sighed, wrapping his arms tighter around Draco’s torso.

“Might be in The Profit tomorrow, sorry.” Draco suddenly mumbled, half asleep as he pressed his face into the pillows. Harry chuckled against the back of his neck, Draco knowing full-well how Harry liked to lay-low in the wizarding world nowadays.

“Oh, I think I can deal with that.”

Draco awoke to the feeling of guilt settling in his stomach. All these people had come here to help  _ him _ and he’d spent most of the time in bed. He sat up against the headboard, Harry still sleeping soundly beside him, a firm hand on his bare thigh, when he noticed the envelope on the bedside table. He reached across Harry, keeping a gentle hand on his shoulder as not to startle him before sitting back to open the envelope. Three photos slid into his lap, sonograms of the little lives inside of him shuffling around on the images. The pictures weren’t that clear, but clear enough for the Mediwitch to have taken one of each of them and one of both of them, wrapped around each other carefully.

“Draco? Are you okay?” Harry’s voice came from beside him, jolting him out of the moment as he realised that the rough sound filling the room was from his sobs, “Hey, come here.” Harry sat up, shuffling behind him and pulling Draco to his chest to wrap his arms around him.

“I didn’t- it didn’t feel real until- look at them, Harry.” Draco stuttered out, hands shaking around the photos as he lifted them one by one, inspecting them before placing them delicately into his lap, “They’re ours, we’re going to have a f-family.” He sobbed quietly, resting a hand on Harry’s thigh as they stared down at the pictures.

“Are you okay with that? Is this what you want?” Harry asked hesitantly, craning his neck to meet Draco’s eyes over his shoulders, wiping his tears with his thumbs. Draco nodded eagerly,

“Y-yes, I think- I think I’m happy.” He tried his hardest to muddle through his emotions, but he was overwhelmed to say the least and he wanted to know everything the Mediwitch had told Harry last night.

“That’s good then, although, I think you’re a little overwhelmed right now. Do you want to sleep a little longer?” Harry asked gently, running his hands up and down Draco’s sides and nuzzling his neck to cover him in his scent.

“N-no, we asked for everyone’s help and now we’re just leaving them to do it. It’s not fair.” Draco said resolutely, wiping his tears and carefully placing the photos back into the envelope, hands still shaking as he tried to push the sheets off and get out of bed, but Harry held his wrist.

“Are you really okay? About- about everything? I was so worried about you yesterday and then when I saw you I just- I felt so relieved, but- I guess I’m still just worried about you.” Harry muddled through, licking his lips in thought and running his thumb over Draco’s scarred wrist. It was difficult keeping up the  _ glamours _ for extended periods of time and Harry liked to see him like this, bare and raw in every aspect. Draco followed Harry’s eyes down to the scarred Mark, dull from yesterday when it’d pulsed under his skin.

“I’m really okay, I just want to finish up East Wing and-” Draco began, but Harry was frowning, pulling him back into bed and holding his face between his hands.

“Do you have to? I can come this time, right? I don’t think- I don’t want you to leave my side.” Harry said, cheeks tinging pink with embarrassment at the confession, but Draco was laying his hands atop Harry’s, turning his face to kiss his wrist.

“I wanted to get it all done before you came in, but I guess you can come with me. Just- just not Hermione, not quite yet. I don’t know what Bellatrix did to her in that room, but I heard enough. I want it to feel different, like a place she’s never been before, I don’t want her to recognise it.” Draco said slowly, eyes sliding away from Harry’s face as he sighed, suddenly jolting back from Harry and staring at him in alarm as he grabbed his stomach, hand flying to his mouth as he ran for the bathroom. Harry was immediately up and running after him, gathering his bangs from his face and hushing him as Draco spat up into the toilet,

“They really choose their moment’s,” Harry sighed, running his hand down Draco’s back and settling on his waist, thumb running under the shirt to massage the tiny weight that he’d already gained on his hips, “The Mediwitch sent some potions over for the aches and nausea, do you want to take it now?” Harry added, kissing Draco’s forehead despite him smelling of vomit, sweat beading at his hairline from the exertion. Draco shook his head immediately,

“N-no, I can’t- there’s no way I can think about putting anything in my body right now.” Draco coughed into the toilet, waving his hand to wandlessly vanish the sick away. Harry hummed his understanding as he continued to soothe him with his scent and hands.

Across the Manor, Hermione was doing much the same as Draco, head in the toilet bowl as she puked up her guts, Ron groaning and running into the bathroom disoriented from sleep.

“Oh, ‘Mione, here,” Ron fell to his knees behind her, the hair elastic in hand as he gathered her hair from her face, tying it into a high half-bun. He’d become quite good at that actually, “Is it bad? Worse than usual?” He asked, stroking her back as she spat, groaning in annoyance.

“No worse than usual.” She groaned, sniffling as her eyes watered, “My throat hurts.” She added huskily and Ron was immediately summoning a cup, mumbling an  _ aguamenti _ at it and handing it to Hermione who swirled and spat, then drank gratefully.

“We can take the day off, I’ll tell Harry.” Ron proposed, casting his Patronus to send a message, but Hermione was grabbing his wrist to stop him.

“Not after what happened to Draco yesterday, they’ll be taking a day off too. There can’t be four people missing, it’s not fair on the others.” Hermione said, pulling back from the toilet and leaning against the bathroom cabinets in exhaustion. The sun had barely even risen and she was tired again.

“‘Mione, there’s no way you can do anything more than sleep today, look at you. Did you sleep badly last night?” Ron huffed, cradling her pale face in a rough hand as she closed her eyes.

“I’ll be fine, it’s Draco we should be worrying about.” Hermione shot back, but Ron wasn’t the least bit convinced as he picked her up into his arms and carried her back to bed, “Ron, come on-”

“At least another hour, I mean it, or I won’t let you come and help us at all today.” Ron said firmly, settling her back onto the expensive sheets. They felt luxurious against her skin, soft enough to have her wanting to go to sleep, but everything felt uncomfortable. Ron sat beside her and stroked her hair rhythmically, trying his best to get her to sleep as he set the room at the perfect temperature for her. 

“Fine.” She agreed begrudgingly, settling down and nuzzling the pillows and for the first time in weeks, she fell asleep within five minutes.

Draco tipped his head back under the shower, water cascading over him and Harry was having trouble looking away.

“So? What did she say? The Mediwitch, I mean.” Draco asked as his hair turned a darker shade of blonde under the stream of water. Harry blinked out of his trance,

“Oh, well how much do you remember?” Harry asked, stepping forward and taking the shampoo bottle to pour into Draco’s hair, massaging his scalp as a distraction for himself.

“Not much, I was pretty tired after all the wards and spells I took down in East Wing and being Chloroformed does sort of take it out of you for a few hours.” Draco tried to joke, but Harry was looking at him seriously, eyes instinctively falling to his mouth as if there might be visible traces of the substance still on his lips, “Calm down, I’m fine. I’ve faced a lot worse than a little wood polish and it’ll take a lot more than  _ that _ to put me out of my misery.” He added nonchalantly. It was surprising to see the effects of the bond between them, how Harry hadn’t passed out, but could feel Draco’s physical pains not caused by the pregnancy. 

“Draco it’s not that simple-” He cut off, trying to explain to him the real dangers of the matter, but Draco was stepping in and pressing his lips to Harry’s in a short kiss.

“Harry, I’m fine.” He said firmly, stepping back under the water to wash his hair of the suds, “Now, tell me what the Mediwitch said. I only remember her poking my hips until I said it hurt and the rest is all muddled to me. I knew she was speaking, but I wasn’t really conscious enough to listen.” He admitted and it had Harry laughing because Draco would usually chastise Harry for that, but then again he was pregnant so he was allowed to doze off in conversation. Harry stepped in again, the water falling over the both of them as he gripped Draco’s hips firmly in his hands, staring down at the way they dipped in his hold.

“She said that it would be difficult, given that you’re a male Omega, and that your body would start to change.” Harry said softly, eyes still fixed on his curves, the little swell to his usually flat stomach.

“Yes, I’m going to get fat.” Draco said disinterested, but Harry was continuing in that low, seductive tone he’d adopted already.

“No, she said that our little Alpha was already taking up room, pushing your hips apart to accommodate.” Harry ran his hands over the dips of Draco’s waist down to the hip-bones, digging his fingers there gently, not hard enough for it to hurt Draco, “That your body would act like a woman’s. Your hips will widen,” He paused again, looking up at Draco with lust-blown eyes, “And your chest will swell.” Harry dipped down, nosing at Draco’s clavicle before sliding his mouth down to his left nipple, taking it in his mouth and swirling his tongue as he kept one hand on Draco’s hip, the other between his shoulder blades to hold him up, “And _ fuck,  _ if you’re not  _ already _ breathtaking.” Harry trailed off, eyeing Draco hungrily as he pulled away from his nipples, brushing their noses together as Draco chased after his lips. 

“I don’t know how you managed to make that sound hot.” Draco whispered under his breath, still nosing at Harry to let him close the space and press their lips together, but Harry was teasing playfully. He knew Draco’s Pureblood status would probably start messing with his muddled, pregnancy brain, especially as the Malfoys were known for their ethereal beauty and perfect figures. He wasn’t quite sure how Draco would handle all this if Harry had broken the news to him without some form of sweet talk. 

“No more Heats for a few months, but that doesn’t mean I can’t make you feel good, right?” Harry mumbled, sliding his hands back down Draco’s waist to thumb lightly at his cock, dropping to his knees as he took Draco, already half-hard, into his hands. 

“ _ Y-yes. _ ” Draco hissed out, running his fingers into Harry’s hair as the Alpha took a deep, appreciative inhale of his musky scent, nuzzling his cock before taking the tip between his lips, “ _ P-please _ make me feel good, Harry.” Harry hummed in response, slowly taking Draco down to the back of his throat, swallowing around him as he pressed his nose into the well-kept hairs at the base of his cock. Draco’s thighs tensed as Harry met his eyes over his chest, watching in anticipation as Harry stared up at him intensely, beginning a steady pace. They didn’t really have time for this, Draco knew that, but Harry has gotten under his skin and his hormones were haywire enough as they were that he could go from sitting on the bathroom floor with his head in the toilet, feeling sorry for himself, to gently fucking Harry’s mouth with slick leaking down his thighs.  _ Oh God, there was slick leaking down his thighs.  _

“Holy shit.” Harry pulled off as he noticed too, “Y-you’re so  _ wet _ .” He groaned, dipping his fingers between Draco’s ass cheeks to cover his fingers in the thick substance, the smell intoxicating as Draco whined for Harry’s mouth to get back to work on his cock. He obliged easily, fingers mindlessly spreading the slick across Draco’s thighs and ass cheeks, sucking on his cock prettily.

“H-Harry, I’m- I’m already close.” Draco whimpered, tipping his head back against the slate bathroom tiles as he gripped Harry’s hair tightly in one hand, the other scrabbling against the wall for support as Harry manoeuvred his leg over his shoulder, staring up at him as if to say,  _ then cum, Draco _ . And he did, not a moment later, his voice cracking high on a moan as his orgasm unravelled around him, cum shooting down Harry’s throat before he could think about pulling back and Draco had been lucky that Harry was so good at giving head, otherwise that could’ve been a less than fortunate situation. It was a long moment before Draco collected himself, Harry already back on his feet, kissing and nosing gently at their mating mark as he held his hips against the wall. 

“Good?” Harry finally asked, pulling back to look at Draco properly, smiling as he took in the Omega’s flushed cheeks, wild hair and uneven breaths. 

“So good.” He groaned in response, suddenly looking down to eye Harry’s still-hard cock with guilt, “Here, I can-” Draco began, trying to manoeuvre himself in order of getting on his knees but Harry was quick to stop him, dragging him back in for a kiss. 

“Nuh-uh, not today, baby. You’re exhausted already. Just kiss me.” Harry said shortly, running his hands all over Draco’s body as he lapped his tongue against the seam of Draco’s mouth, pushing his tongue inside slickly. Draco moaned into his mouth as Harry took himself into his fist, slowly beginning to jerk himself off as his knot grew. Draco pulled back to breath, eyes flashing down and he was groaning at the sight of his knot, mouth watering pathetically. It was a sluttish, crude sort of reaction, but it was instinctual and all his hazy brain could think about was how Harry’s knot felt inside him, how good it stretched him out and locked them together. Maybe he’d end up missing his Heats. 

“Cum for me, Harry, come on,  _ Alpha _ .” Draco whined, noticing the steady jerk of Harry’s hips, a hint that he was close and it made him even more desperate to have that knot inside him.  _ What a waste of perfectly good, valuable Alpha cum.  _ He whimpered softly, Harry’s eyes falling open to look at him, lips parted and Draco was pressing his tongue inside his mouth then. 

“ _ Fuck _ , Draco, I  _ need _ you-  _ want you _ so bad.” Harry groaned into his mouth, holding himself up with a forearm on the tiled wall behind Draco as he teetered on the edge of release with Draco’s sweet saliva slipping down his throat. It was like a drug that he couldn’t get enough of and Harry was quite frankly willing to swallow every last drop that he had to offer. He came hard as Draco’s tongue fought him for dominance, streaks of his release landing on Draco’s pretty, raised stomach like a claim, a mark of his territory,  _ his _ property. 

“W-we don’t have time, but you have to fuck me the minute we’re alone together again.” Draco said drearily, hands running up and down Harry’s chest as he came down from his high and it made Harry laugh dryly, tugging them both back under the stream of water, cleaning Draco before himself. 

“Deal.” Harry agreed easily, sealing it with a kiss. 

It was a full week before the manor started to look like a home again. Draco no longer felt like he was a guest in his own home, but a homeowner and Harry had even picked up on it, noticing how Draco would take any chance he could to use a room they hadn’t in a while. The entire group had done an incredible job and their work had paid off so beautifully, the manor was practically a new place- apart from the long mahogany table in the entrance hall that Draco refused to get rid of. 

Even East Wing was completed, a team of spell breakers coming by to check that Amycus hadn’t left any traps or set any curses, but everything had been clear and East Wing came away looking like an entirely different place, a beautiful ornate part of the manor. 

Draco was entering his second trimester when their friends began to go home, leaving the manor a few at a time. It was nice to be alone with Draco and Teddy once again, even if Ron and Hermione were staying for a little longer and Draco could openly admit that it was helpful. Him and Hermione were currently sitting in his office in the South Wing with various male Omega pregnancy books open, the shelves surprisingly empty ever since they’d vanished the Dark Arts books. It seemed that Lucius had a great deal of information on dark magic and unforgivable curses, but not a whole lot more.

“Will you go to St. Mungo’s for the delivery?” Hermione perked up as she reclined in her armchair, taking a long sip of her tea. Harry and Ron had taken Teddy out to play in the Manor gardens, but Draco hadn’t really felt up to it so Hermione had stayed back with him. Looking at her now, Draco was surprised to see that his baby bump was as big as hers, despite her being almost six months and him only starting his fourth- he distantly loathed the fact of having twins, but the thought passed when he remembered how increasingly excited Harry had started being.

“I’d prefer a home birth, but I’m not sure that they’ll let me, what with it being a C-section.” Draco hadn’t wanted to go to St. Mungo’s for the delivery and the more he’d thought about it, the more he didn’t want to go, but it was looking like his only choice with his predicament. He’d have to speak to a Mediwitch about it, “With the amount of time Harry and I have been there, I should be comfortable with giving birth there, but I just relate that place to pain and I don’t want to bring my pups into the world like that.” Draco shrugged, cocking his head at Hermione in thought, “How about you? Will you go to St. Mungo’s? Or maybe a Muggle hospital?” He was genuinely curious and Hermione could tell from the way he looked at her. She placed her cup aside,

“I’ll just go to St. Mungo’s. Ron wouldn’t be able to cope in a Muggle hospital and, besides, the magic technology is far more advanced than the Muggles. I’m still surprised at how detailed the sonogram photos were, not to mention the pain potions I’ll be able to take at St. Mungo’s. I heard that Muggle medication can only help so much.” She said with a shiver, thinking about the pain she might have to endure if she were to go to a Muggle hospital. Draco nodded, interested as he tried to imagine Harry’s life out there, without magic or house elves, he wanted to be at least a little knowledgeable about the whole thing. 

“And Muggle hospitals can perform C-sections, too?” He asked, playing with his fingers in his lap, dropping his face as he tried to hide the blush at his sudden interest. To his relief, Hermione didn’t pick up on it or, if she did, didn’t comment on it.

“Yes, they’re quite skilled when it comes to surgeries. My parents were only dentists, of course, but as far as I know, Muggle hospitals are very good nowadays.” She explained graciously, trying to keep the curiosity from her expression, “I can- I can lend you some Muggle books if you want to learn more about it? Instead of magic, they often use a lot of electric alternatives. For instance, we can cast spells to check our vital signs, but in Muggle hospitals they link the patient up to a monitor.” Hermione explained, not wanting to bore Draco too much, but he looked intrigued.

“Fascinating.” He said under his breath, subconsciously running his hand over his bump as he felt a pain shoot through his abdomen, “I- I’d really like it if I could borrow a book or two about it.” He looked up in alarm as the office door opened, Ron and Harry entering with Teddy on his hip as they shuffled inside.

“What are you guys talking about?” Ron asked mildly, eyeing Draco’s embarrassed expression, Harry sniffing the air as if to try and read the room, but Hermione didn’t let on, simply shaking her head and planting a kiss to Ron’s lips as he came towards her.

“Just pregnancy things.” Draco hummed, reaching out to take Teddy into his lap as he leaned for Draco’s hold, hair turning blond, “Hello, my darling, did Harry take you on a nice walk? You didn’t run into the peacocks, did you? I can’t stand those nasty things.” Draco shivered, Harry laughing as he joined them, Teddy looking between them, eager to please.

“We saw the peacocks, didn’t we, Teddy? Show Draco what the peacocks look like.” Harry coaxed, watching as Teddy morphed his hair into an array of dark blues and greens, replicating the feathers of a peacock. Draco gasped in surprise, cradling Teddy’s face and looking at Harry in surprise.

“He- Teddy, when did you learn to do that? You’re so clever, look at you!” Draco marvelled, pressing a kiss to Teddy’s forehead and trying his best to swallow down the bout of emotion that climbed up his throat. It was just his hormones playing up, however, Harry noticed and was instantly perching himself on the arm of the chair, pulling Draco’s head to his chest and stroking his hair. The door clicking shut pierced through the silence and Harry noticed that Ron and Hermione had left them alone for a while.

“What’s on your mind?” Harry asked gently after another moment of silence. Draco looked up at him, gently placing Teddy on the carpet at his feet as he tried desperately to wriggle free from being fawned over.

“Nothing.” Draco lied easily, but there was a dull feeling in the pit of Harry’s stomach that told him when something was up. He raised a testing eyebrow, fingers still pressing soothingly against his scalp and he sighed, “Fine. I’m just- I don’t want to deliver the babies at St. Mungo’s, I want to have them here, but I don’t think they’re going to let me because I’m a male Omega and the delivery could be more complicated, but I just- I don’t want to have them at St. Mungo’s, it doesn’t  _ feel _ right.” Harry was quiet for a moment as he thought it all through. He hummed before transfiguring the armchair, Draco was sitting in, into an Ottaman, so he could properly bring Draco into his arms, letting him stretch out against the cushions.

“Well, we can discuss it with the Mediwitches. I’m sure we can work something out and since we’ve cleared up the manor, I’m sure it’ll be easier for them to agree to it. I won’t let you deliver at St. Mungo’s if it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll get half the Healers round here if I have to, but if you don’t want to go to St. Mungo’s then we won’t go. Easy as that.” Harry said easily and he knew that in Draco’s head it really wasn’t just as ‘easy as that’. He didn’t blame Draco for being afraid of giving birth, he didn’t blame him for wanting it to be done in his home rather than a white, fluorescently-lit room that smelled of cleaning charms and sterile surfaces. They’d both spent enough time in those rooms and Harry couldn’t imagine how terrible Draco might feel waking up to that after giving birth. St. Mungo’s ceilings were made to be stared at before receiving bad news, not two miracles. Harry understood.

“There’s still some time before we have them.” Draco sighed, running his hand over the swell of his stomach with a sigh as he curled further into Harry, fingers resting gently on his chest and Harry knew he wanted to drop the subject for now.

“Did you speak to Hermione about it?” Harry asked gently, nosing at the crown of Draco’s head, his mint scented shampoo filling his nostrils soothingly.

“A bit. We mostly just did some research on male Omega pregnancies. There’s not a whole lot of information so we’re sort of grasping at straws here.” He explained, watching Teddy unstably pull himself up at the seat that Hermione had just vacated. 

“The next appointment is in a week, so we can talk to the Mediwitch about the delivery arrangements and if you have any questions.” Harry said softly against his head, sliding his hand down to place atop the one that Draco had cupping the swell of his stomach, “Does anything feel different? Are you okay?” He added, a little unsure of his questions, but he could still feel that unease in Draco’s chest, even after having the conversation about his delivery plan. Draco was quiet for a while, sighing softly as they watched Teddy giggle at the charms Harry set.

“I’m just- I-” Draco began, cutting off quickly when he got his head clear. He wasn’t quite ready to have this conversation with Harry, not yet, “It doesn’t matter.” Harry could tell that it did matter, but he didn’t want to push it. Him and Draco had been on good terms recently, better than ever before and he didn’t want them to lose that all because Harry pushed him into telling him something that Draco was set on telling him in his own time. Draco was good at deciding things in his own time and most of the time, he was right to do so, Harry respected that about him. He knew that a lot of Alpha and Omega couples weren’t like that and he didn’t want to be another of the same, he wanted Draco to work things out for himself, to have the same independence and freedom that an Alpha had.

“That’s okay, you can tell me whenever you feel like it.” Harry said gently, skimming his thumb over Draco’s knuckles and kissing the crown of his head. Draco nodded his agreement, “I know it’s early, but do you want to get some rest? I can put Teddy to bed tonight, you seem tired.” Harry added, feeling Draco’s body sag further into him and the soft huff of breath was an answer enough. Harry stood first, helping Draco to his feet and lifting Teddy into his arms as he guided Draco out of the office, down the corridor to their bedroom.

He made quick work of bathing Teddy, wrapping him up in a warm towel and spelling him dry, dressing him snugly in a sleepsuit before tapping on the musical mobile that hung over Teddy’s cot. These days, Teddy was doing well in terms of getting to sleep easily and they usually only got woken once a night or early in the morning. It wasn’t anything that the both of them couldn’t manage nowadays, well, Harry dealt with most of it as it took Draco hours to get comfortable and back to sleep again once he’d woken up. Harry pulled the door shut behind him, knocking gently on Draco’s door before stepping inside. They’d been sharing a room since the pregnancy and usually it felt nice to join Draco in bed, but something was off and Draco was acting strange.

“How’re you feeling?” Harry asked, kicking his jeans off and laying them over the back of Draco’s desk chair before he began yelling, but Draco wasn’t even interested, not even sparing him a glance, “Draco?” he called, stepping closer to their bed to pull the sheets back from Draco’s face, but was met with a short grunt and a turn of his head, burrowing his face into Harry’s night sweater as he inhaled his scent.

“Go away.” He replied, voice muffled in fabric, but it still held an unexpected coldness that Harry hadn’t heard in a while, it was frightening. Like the old Draco.

“Hey, what’s the matter? Did I do something to-” Harry tried, perching on the edge of their mattress, but Draco was stubbornly turning his back on him, pulling the sheets higher up his body until he was cocooned under their duvet.

“I said, go  _ away _ .” Draco said sharply, emotion in his voice and Harry knew better than to push it when Draco was like this, but he didn’t want to leave him alone, “You have your own room in this goddamn house, so go!” He yelled, still not facing Harry, but the irritation was clear enough in his voice. Harry stood shakily, confusion written all over his face as he made his way back to the door, chewing his lip,

“I- Draco if there’s something wrong then you should tell me-” Harry began, standing in the doorway until a tuft of blond hair appeared from the sheets to throw his hand angrily towards the door, slamming it shut and locking it hastily in Harry’s face. Harry had a half moment of pure amazement at the wordless, wandless charm before he turned around and slid his back down the wall in defeat. It was wishful thinking that things would carry on being so good, Harry knew it wouldn’t last, but he wanted to at least live the dream out a little longer before something like this happened. Draco wasn’t good at talking about his feelings, but Harry had seen him getting better at it, had seen him progressing, opening up to Harry little by little, but now they were back at square one and Harry couldn’t work out why. Had their moment in the office earlier been the catalyst of it all? Had Harry unknowingly said something wrong?  _ Done  _ something wrong? He knocked his head back against the wall behind him, eyes closed as he sat patiently outside Draco’s room, casting a quick warming charm over himself as he heard a series of shuffles from inside the bedroom.

It was past midnight when Harry roused to find himself still outside Draco’s door, still waiting patiently to be let back in and for Draco to tell him what was wrong. He rubbed his eyes in the darkness, silence filling the corridor and Harry wondered what had woken him in the first place. He stood to his feet, stretching his legs out as he decided to give in and sleep in his own bed tonight, hopefully Draco would come to him in his own time. Preferably within the next twenty minutes, because Harry had no intention of sleeping alone. He pushed the door to his room open when a soft sound came from behind Draco’s door, a high whine that was filled with pleasure not pain. It was short and brief and Harry had himself half convinced that it was his sleep-deprivation, when it came again, a little longer and pitchier this time. Harry ran back across the hall, resting his hands on the door as he pressed his forehead against the oak,

“Draco? Please let me in? I’m worried about you.” Harry said pathetically into the dark, the shuffling pausing for a moment and Harry could feel Draco’s anxiety twisting back in his stomach as he interrupted, “I think- I think I know what’s going on and I want to help. It’s okay if you don’t want my help, but will you please just let me see that you’re okay?” Harry went on as things slowly came into focus for him. He’d spoken some more to the Mediwitch in their last appointment, not to mention the books he’d been reading- he was sure that he knew what this was.

“G-go away, Harry.” Draco’s voice came shakily from behind the door, but there wasn’t as much venom in it now, he just sounded tired, worn out and Harry could tell that he didn’t  _ really _ want him to go away.

“ _ Please _ , Draco?” Harry begged one last time, closing his eyes as he leant his forehead against the door. There was a long silence before the latch clicked and Harry realised that Draco must’ve unlocked the door. He pushed inside quietly, the smell of Omega hitting him all at once and it was a struggle to keep from coughing at all the pheromones. Draco was sitting up on his knees in the centre of their bed, Harry's night sweater adorning his lithe figure, the moonlight seeping in through the blinds and highlighting the smear of precum over the head of Draco’s cock that he had squeezed in his fist. Harry was drawn to him like a magnet, crawling onto the mattress to try and meet Draco’s gaze, but his eyes were glassy and distant, avoiding Harry’s eyes. In their close proximity, Harry was now also aware of the hand Draco had snaked behind him, two fingers stilled inside his hole and it had Harry breathing heavily, stuttered as he slowly lifted his hands up to push the hoodie off Draco’s head, tilting his chin upwards to get him to meet his eyes.

“Stop,” Draco said huskily, eyes darting away as his cheeks flushed, half in arousal, half in embarrassment, “Y-you don’t want me like this.” He added meekly, his voice firm as if he’d already made up Harry’s mind for him, but Harry was shaking his head, cupping Draco’s jaw as he closed the space between them until there was barely an inch between their lips.

“I want you any way that I can have you.” Harry said quietly, letting their lips hover against one another before he closed the final inch between them, Draco’s precum stained hand reaching up to cling at Harry’s shirt, whispering for him to take it off. Harry gave in all too quickly, shedding his shirt and jeans and gently easing Draco back onto the bed, propping his back up with cushions as he kissed him firmly. 

“ _ P-please _ touch me?” Draco asked gently against his mouth, lips slick with saliva and Harry couldn’t stop staring. He nodded firmly, trailing his hand down Draco’s body and replacing the fingers that’d slipped out of his hole when he’d fallen back against the sheets. 

“You’re so  _ wet _ .” Harry groaned under his breath, slipping his fingers through the slick before pushing his index finger in firmly, adding another not a moment later. Draco tipped his head back against the pillows, mouth dropping open in a broken cry as he reached for Harry’s shoulders with blunt nails. The slide of Harry’s fingers inside him was surprisingly slick seeing as he wasn’t in Heat, but it didn’t feel any less good, legs shaking uncontrollably as he struggled to keep them spread for Harry. 

“A-another- want another.” Draco moaned, refraining from adding on how  _ empty _ he felt. He didn’t want to deal with Harry’s teasing right now and he’d been on edge and desperate for days. There was no way he was giving this up now. Harry hummed his acknowledgment, pressing three fingers back into his tight heat until Draco was relaxing under his ministrations, shivering in pleasure at the sheer feeling of having something other than his  _ own _ fingers up his ass. Harry’s always were that little bit thicker and as long and slender as Draco’s fingers were, he could never quite reach the places that Harry could when the angle was all wrong. Draco suppressed a full body shiver when Harry curled the tips of his fingers firmly into his prostate, leaning over him and kissing his neck that he’d so willingly offered up in submission. 

“Do you think you can come like this? With just my fingers inside you?” Harry growled into his neck, Draco’s muscles spasming around Harry’s fingers as he slowly fucked into his prostate with practiced ease. Draco was sure that right now he could come from Harry just looking at him the right way. He nodded his response eagerly, gritting his teeth and reaching for Harry’s free hand to distract himself from taking his cock in his fist. He tipped his head back again when Harry curled his fingers up, moaning lewdly and grasping the sheets in his other hand as he squeezed his eyes shut. Harry watched him slowly come undone, his resolve chipping away little by little as he fucked his hips down on Harry’s hand, riding his fingers desperately. 

“P-please- ‘m going to-  _ fuck _ !” Draco abandoned his warning as he came shakily all over his stomach, fingers squeezing Harry’s in a tight grip as he worked through the high, crying out so prettily that Harry was almost jumping him mid-orgasm. 

“I know, baby, shhh, just breathe.” Harry cooed, fingers still deep inside him, massaging his prostate as his cock continued spurting come, angry red and untouched, “Good boy, you did so good, my baby.” Harry hummed into his neck, fingers stilling when Draco began panting and squirming from overstimulation. They were quiet for a while, Harry’s fingers still deep inside Draco as he caught his breath, fingers shaking slightly in Harry’s grip. Harry kissed up his neck to distract him, nosing at his pulse point and nipping at their bond mark. There was a sense of satisfaction in the pit of Harry’s chest, presumably from Draco as he drifted in and out of consciousness, staying quiet as not to ruin the moment before composing himself.

“You shouldn’t have pushed it earlier. I would’ve given in eventually.” Draco hummed dazedly, revelling in the heat of Harry’s body as he lay over him precariously. Harry huffed out a laugh, humming and moving off Draco’s body to cast a few cleaning charms and settle beside him hesitantly. 

“You shouldn’t have shut me out. I was worried, you know.” Harry said softly, pulling Draco into his chest and soothing his temples with tender fingers in order of getting him relaxed enough to sleep, “Why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you let me help? I knew this was coming at some point, so why didn’t you want me to know?” He asked gently, no accusation or reprimand in his voice, just gentle concern and quiet curiosity. Draco sighed, their fingers still linked at Harry’s side, Draco struggling to get comfortable with his head on Harry’s chest, legs intertwined. 

“B-because it’s embarrassing.” He said shortly, closing his eyes to try and keep from having to meet Harry’s gaze, “It’s not like Heat, it’s just a  _ want _ , not a  _ need _ .” He tried to explain, but his head was feeling heavy and the persistent massaging against his temples felt so good. 

“That doesn’t mean I can’t help you. I  _ want  _ to help you, Draco, I want to make you feel better.” Harry said softly, moving his hand down from Draco’s temple to slide under his hoodie and down to his waist again, taking in every inch of his skin. 

“It just feels… weird. We hardly have sex outside of Heats- apart from that time I fucked you- it just feels embarrassing to ask.” Draco explained, burying his face further into Harry’s chest as he held him closely, bare bump brushing against Harry’s torso from where Draco’s hoodie had slipped up, “And on top of that, I’m pregnant and fat and kind of gross.” Draco added under his breath. He wasn’t exactly ready to tell Harry about how his chest had started aching, nipples becoming a little more sensitive. 

“You’re pregnant, yes, but no to the other things. You’re perfect, Draco, you’re carrying our children for god’s sake! How could I not be in love with you?” Harry exasperated, 

  
  
  
  


Draco pulled his robes on once Harry had put a disillusionment charm over his baby bump. St Mungo’s had sent a message for Narcissa’s next of Kin to sign off on some papers and Draco had been wanting to go and visit her for a while now. Besides, he needed to get out of the house or else he’d go stir-crazy.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come? I’ll wait outside your room, I won’t even get in the way.” Harry asked for the hundredth time, smoothing out the lapels of Draco’s jacket.

“Harry, for the last time, I’ll be fine. I’ll be gone barely an hour.” Draco said smoothly, brushing his hair back from his face as he looked at himself in the mirror, “I’ll schedule our next check up while I’m there.” He reassured, leaning in to kiss Harry’s cheek, running his thumb over his jaw as he tried to calm Harry through his bond, but the dull feeling of his Alpha’s concern was evident in the pit of his stomach.

“Okay, just- just be careful.” Harry said shortly, pulling him back in for a proper kiss before he could pull away and make his way towards the floo.

“I’m always careful.” Draco assured, shoving a hand deep in his pocket and reaching for the floo powder as he stepped into the fireplace, “Now please quit worrying, I’ll be home in a bit, try not to kill Teddy.” He added lightly, but that wasn’t the problem here, there was no worry on Draco’s part- not about Teddy, not about his mother, not about himself. The only hint of danger had been the Amycus incident, yes he’d been shaken up, but the Aurors had taken him to Azkaban for attempted murder. Draco hadn’t paid a whole lot of attention to his article in the profit, but the trial hadn’t exactly seemed to go in his favour. He stepped out of the floo on arriving in St Mungo’s atrium, dusting himself down and making his way towards the information desk. He checked himself in and was led down the hall and into an elevator by a petite Mediwitch who seemed to be more interested in her files than she was in Draco.

“Third door on the left.” She said shortly when the elevator came to a stop, holding the door open for him to step out and closing them again once Draco stepped out into another matrix of long, white, sterile corridors. Third door on the left, room was 566,  _ Narcissa Malfoy-Black _ engraved on the nameplate across the door. He knocked twice,

“Mother? It’s Draco, may I come in?” He called carefully, frowning when there was no immediate answer. Maybe she was asleep, maybe she’d gone down to the recreation centre. He pushed inside to find her bed made and the room empty, an eerie feeling settling around him. A wide window overlooked the dense forest below, a soft armchair with a table stacked with Narcissa’s gardening books and her locket laid carefully atop it. Draco felt a lump rise in his throat at the sight of her few possessions laid out around the room. The thing that caught Draco’s attention was the photo of her holding him as a baby on her bedside, the moving image showing her laughing and cooing at him whilst he reached for her hands, twirling his little fingers into her braid that lay neatly down the side of her neck.

“Draco,” The voice startled Draco out of the moment, whipping around at his mother’s voice. For half a moment, he thought he’d imagined it before he spotted Narcissa standing in the doorway of the ensuite with a wand to her throat. She would have looked calm if it weren’t for the tears in her eyes, “My darling boy, I’ve missed you.” Draco dropped the photo on her bed, fingers shaking as he pulled out his wand, training it on the figure holding his mother hostage. Only then did he realise-

“Alecto.” He said under his breath. Of course, when one didn’t finish the job, then there was surely someone else to follow it up.

“She’s not who I’m here for, Draco.” Alecto said primly, not a hair out of place as she blinked, bored, over at Draco, “Come with me easily and she wont get hurt.” Draco wasn’t completely sold on the idea, but he placed his wand on the floor and raised his hands all the same.

“Now let her go, Alecto, I’ll come with you.” Draco said steadily, swallowing down the fear in his throat and trying his best to push fear through the bond to try and get Harry to save him. He should’ve listened to him. He shouldn’t have come alone. 

“I don’t really feel like it now,  _ Crucio _ !” Alecto yelled, watching in delight as Narcissa fell to the floor, body crumpling as she let out a sickening shriek. Draco ran forward, gasping and reaching for her in panic, but Alecto had her wand at Draco’s throat now, Narcissa collapsing in exhaustion from the curse. Out the corner of his eye, Draco saw her shake her head minutely, a telling sign to not bother saving her and that only made Draco angrier.

“You said-  _ Jesus _ , Alecto!” Draco scrambled behind himself, blindly searching for his wand as the fear turned to anger, his fingers shaking in fury. Narcissa tried to let off that calming scent, just like she used to do when he was younger, trying her best to soothe him so he’d be clear-headed enough to get them out of this situation. Sometimes being a rare Omega wasn’t so bad, Alecto had no idea.

“You should know that I don’t uphold my end of a bargain when a  _ traitor _ crosses me.” Alecto spat out, stepping closer to Draco and leaning in to rip his sleeve up, “ _ Revelio _ !” She tapped the wood against the inside of Draco’s arm, revealing the scarred, void, red mark on his forearm. She scoffed,  _ accio _ ing Draco’s wand from behind him, unarming him properly, “Thought you’d add some decoration, did you now?” Alecto taunted, eyeing the scars adorning his Mark. Draco felt the fury rise again, but he didn’t trust that Alecto wouldn’t throw another Crucio at his mother if he moved.

“If you’re here to kill me, why’re you dragging it out? No one’s coming for me, no one’s going to save me.” Draco wasn’t sure himself if that was true. For all he knew, Harry could be on his way right now, followed him to St. Mungo’s to protect him, but Draco was highly doubting it. Harry trusted him,  _ stupid bastard.  _

“Oh, how sweet, you think I’ll just kill you? You think I’d make it that easy for you?” She muttered something under her breath, her wand buzzing in her hand before Draco suddenly felt an inhumane curse hit his forearm, tearing up the skin straight from his muscles. He watched in horror as the layers peeled back excruciatingly, until just above his bone, the Dark Mark still pulsing dully under the last layer of skin. He scrabbled in pain, tears spilling down his face, his entire body jolting at the awful feeling and he could barely see how much damage had been done through the blur of his tears, “Funny, isn’t it? However deep you cut, it’s always there, clinging to you like a brand.” Alecto stared at the Mark, eyes inquisitive, curious as she body bound Draco on the floor, watching him choke pathetically. Narcissa seemed to have just about gathered enough strength to scream and reach for Draco with deft fingers before Alecto kicked her head in and Draco felt another searing pain in his opposite arm before blacking out.

Harry choked on his breath, grasping his hand over his forearm as Teddy watched in confusion from the floor where they’d been playing.  _ Draco _ . Something wasn’t right,  _ really _ wasn’t right. Teddy grabbed at Harry’s leg, big, fearful eyes staring up at him in concern, his hair turning to a bright blonde on his head as if he understood what was going on.

“I-  _ oh God- _ I need t-” Harry choked out, throwing floo powder into the fire grate to call Ron and Hermione. They took a moment to answer and Harry was sure it’d been ringing for over an hour, but when Hermione’s face came into view she looked calm, happy that he’d called, “‘Mione- it’s  _ Draco- _ ” Was all Harry managed before collapsing in the ash that spilled out of the fireplace. Hermione cursed, calling the others, carefully stepping out of the floo to not step on Harry’s unconscious body. Teddy was by his side, crying and Hermione was quick to take him into her arms, shushing him and looking up in panic as Ron, Luna and Ginny stepped through after her, cursing in shock.

“He just said it’s about Draco and then passed out. Where is he? Something’s happened.” Hermione’s voice sounded urgent, on edge as she held Teddy, watching Ron levitate Harry onto a bed.

“We need to find him.” Ginny said firmly, looking around the room for clues, but Teddy’s cries stopped abruptly and he was changing his hair into a lime green colour, demanding attention from the four of them, “The garden?” Ginny asked in confusion, looking out the window, but Hermione was gasping.

“St. Mungo’s, it’s the Mediwitch robes.” She shrieked, “Go, I’ll stay with Harry and Teddy.” She said quickly, ushering them to the fireplace before they could protest. Ron knew that she wanted to go too, but he also knew that they’d waste time arguing about it and the fact that she was pregnant, only for her to give in and not go anyway. She was skipping the middle step and Ron loved her for that. He leant in for a quick kiss before they disappeared in a cloud of ash.

“ _ One, two, three, one two three… _ ” Alecto sang quietly as she circled Draco, having successfully torn apart both forearms and making on his chest, “Hm, is that too exciting to start just yet? There wasn’t much of a build up and it’d be a shame if I accidentally ended things two quickly by nicking your heart. So, how about your legs?” Draco winced, body instinctively jerking away as he came to, heart hammering in his chest as he lay unmoving on the floor, frozen from the  _ bodybind _ . 

“P-please-” He trailed off weakly, his voice not sounding like his own and he wasn’t sure how long he’d been out for, but his mother was no longer laying on the floor behind Alecto and he feared the worst.

“You want me to slice you up enough that you’ll start begging? How inhumane, Draco. I thought your father would have taught you  _ some _ manners at least.” Alecto scolded, stopping to stand over him at his side. His eyes stung with tears as he tried not to shake too violently- he wanted Harry, he wanted to go home. He closed his eyes, Alecto chuckling gleefully above him as he gave in-

“ _ Expelliarmus _ !” Draco wanted to open his eyes to see who had cast, but he couldn’t tether enough strength anymore and the cooling hands that began cradling his face were so soothing that he just wanted to sleep. 

“Draco? Hey, Draco, I need you to stay awake. Keep your eyes open for me, please, look at me.” Luna’s voice sounded above him, filtering out the rush of curses bouncing off the walls as Ron and Ginny deflected Alecto’s casts. 

“T-tired.” Draco muttered out, opening his eyes to a smudge of white-blonde before giving in to his heavy eyelids again. 

“I know, I know, but try to stay with me until someone comes.” Luna spoke, but Draco was slipping, her hands holding his face, fingers slipping gently over his chest to count his heartbeats and then the quietness took over and silence ensued. 

_ “Harry Potter-” _

_ “-that Ex-death eater-” _

_ “-he’s a patient, don’t call him th-” _

_ “-not woken up yet, but they’ll be alright-” _

_ “-don’t pace, Ron, it’s unnerving-” _

_ “-Babies are alright-?” _

Draco roused with a start, gasping and reaching for his stomach in a panic. The room was too bright and his skin felt fuzzy all over, the familiar discomfort of the healing and protection charms layered over him. 

“Harry-” He started, choking as his breath caught, hyperventilating for a few moments before a Mediwitch burst in with a paper bag and her wand in hand. 

“Calm down, Mr Malfoy. You’re okay, you’re safe-” She began soothing, but Draco wasn’t fine, Harry wasn’t fine, the  _ babies _ weren’t fine.

“My mother- Harry is- I’m pregnant-” Draco coughed out, words muffled in the bag as the mediwitch chuckled gently, waving her wand to let up a scent blocker that’d been dampening the room. Draco whipped his head to the side as he sensed Harry’s Alpha scent, “Oh my G-God-” He sighed gratefully as he looked to the left, his bed not even a metre from Harry’s, the private room housing them to keep from the public eye.  _ White ceilings _ , Draco thought,  _ bad news _ . He turned back to the mediwitch with a grimace. 

“Don’t give me that look, Mr Malfoy, do you think I’m incapable of doing my job?” She teased, pulling his sheets back from his body to reveal his arms thwarted in a soft linen hospital gown. Without a scratch. 

“How did you-?” He began, astonished. He’d been sure that there would be scars since Alecto had opted for some pretty dark magic and not many Mediwitches really bothered taking their time to patch him up. 

“I’ve been around for a while, I’ve seen a fair bit of dark magic in my time, Mr Malfoy. And before you start, there’s no need to fret about the pups, they’re doing fine.” She smiled at him, tapping two hologram monitors beside his bed, each pup displayed on their own screen. Draco took a moment to stare at them fondly, a little smile creeping onto his lips, eyes drifting past them to stare at Harry asleep in his bed. 

“And Harry? Is he okay? When will he wake up?” Draco asked, reluctantly dragging his eyes from Harry back to the mediwitch. She smirked, tidying the room and changing the IV in his hand, he hated that feeling. 

“He should be awake in a little while, an hour at most. Now that you’re awake, he should come around soon.” She said gently, sighing and stepping back once she’d finished, “Your mother is in intensive care, but she’ll be fine if she keeps progressing at the rate she currently is. There’s no need to worry about her, you can see her when you’re up to walking. I hear she’s been asking for you.” Draco swallowed down a lump of guilt, trying his best not to be so damned selfish about the whole thing. His mother had gotten hurt too and he’d just worried about himself, Harry and the twins. 

“I’m rather eager to tell her about the pups.” He said softly, dropping his gaze to the sheets, staring blankly in thought. The mediwitch hummed her understanding,

“Well, now, you have some visitors outside, they were worried sick about you two, would you like to see them?” She proposed. Draco nodded eagerly, desperate for a distraction and Ron, Hermione, Luna and Ginny with Teddy on her hip came bursting into the room not a moment later. Draco doubted that they’d even let the mediwitch get a word out before they came bounding in towards him. 

“Draco! Jesus, we were so worried! What happened? How do you feel?” Hermione bounded towards him with a hand on her little bump, smiling gratefully as Draco moved his legs aside and beckoned her to sit down on the edge of his bed. 

“Slow down, Hermione, he’s only just woken up.” Ron said gently, giving Draco an apologetic smile as he transfigured chairs for the rest of them. 

“It’s okay, I’m okay.” He mumbled vaguely, trying to catch up on everything, “So, I’m guessing no one got her?” Draco asked hesitantly, looking up from his hands in his lap as he was reminded of Alecto standing over him. Ginny sighed softly, shaking her head,

“She disapparated before we could grab her, practically tore through the wards. She’s probably lying in some dark alley with a splinched arm right now, stupid bitch.” She muttered under her breath, letting Luna take Teddy from her arms as he began getting fidgety. Draco smiled sadly, nodding his understanding. So they were still in danger. Harry was still in danger, Teddy was still in danger, his mother was still in danger- _the pups_ _were still in danger._ He grit his jaw.

“The Aurors are on it though, they said there’s a few safehouses where she might be.” Ron piped up as he noticed the grim look on Draco’s face. 

“Well that’s better than nothing.” Draco noted, head flitting to Harry as his scent spiked, “Sleeping beauty will be up soon. Was he okay when I was- when I got-?” Draco trailed off, looking between them, but Hermione was soothing him with a hand on his forearm, oblivious to the fact that Draco’s  _ glamours _ had all been dropped. 

“He passed out in the fire grate trying to call us. He’s fine, as long as you’re okay, he’ll be okay.” She looked over as Harry roused with a sigh, eyelids slowly fluttering open. Draco felt his heart swell,

“Harry,” He breathed out, tense muscles relaxing all at once as Harry turned his head to meet his eyes across the room, “You’re- I’m- I’m sorry.” Draco stuttered and he wished he could be more eloquent right now, he must’ve started learning from Harry. 

“You’re okay.” Harry smiled at him, weary-eyed and that probably meant that Draco looked just as bad, if not worse. He brought a hand to his face, unconsciously, turning to look at the others to see if they’d noticed anything, but they all seemed pretty nonchalant. 

“I’m okay. The pups are okay. Mother’s okay.” He confirmed shortly, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand before he realised that it wasn’t just the touch-up face  _ glamours _ that’d dropped, “O-oh shit, w-where’s my wand?” He said shakily, stuffing his left arm under the sheets as his eyes blurred with embarrassed tears, Harry noticed. 

“Hey, baby, it’s okay.” Harry soothed raspily, trying his best to reach out across the space between their beds, but his strength hadn’t fully returned just yet. 

“N-no, it’s-” Draco replied shakily, but the sudden rush of familiar warmth that came with casting glamours ran over his forearm. He looked up to see Hermione with her wand out, a sympathetic look in her eyes as she righted herself as if nothing had happened. 

“We should give you two some time. We’ll take Teddy for the night and we’ll be back in the morning, okay?” She spoke up, letting Luna step in for Draco to say goodbye to Teddy. He kissed his forehead, weakly supporting him in his arms, grateful that Luna was still holding him. They left once Harry had said his goodbyes as well, the room falling quiet once the door clicked shut. Draco chanced a look across his pillow towards Harry, finding him already staring at him intently. 

“I was so worried about you.” Harry spoke up first, his hand resting under his face, eyes glassy with unshed tears. Draco felt a lump form in his throat, looking around himself to finally find his wand on the bedside table. It still hurt to move his arms too much, but he pushed through it to cast a charm to merge their beds together, bringing Harry impossibly close. He sighed in content, placing his wand aside and shuffling down in the sheets to lay facing Harry. 

“I’m sorry. I should’ve listened to you, I shouldn’t have gone on my own.” Draco sighed, a firm hand resting right over Harry’s heart, soothing him as he felt the steady beat beneath his palm. 

“No, it’s important to still have your independence, I'm just glad you’re okay. God, I wanted to hold you like this so badly.” Harry swallowed down a wave of emotion as he pulled him closer, sighing before tucking his face into the crown of Draco’s hair and breathing his scent in contentment. Draco relaxed into his arms, twining their legs together as Harry held him, thumb brushing across his hipbone and the swell of his little bump. 

“I’m here, I’m okay.” Draco reassured, nosing at Harry’s clavicle until they both fell into a bout of fitless sleep. The first in forever. 

Three days of hospital bed-rest came and went before the mediwitches permitted Draco to go and see his mother in the ICU. Harry had offered to go with him, but something in Draco’s eyes made him obey when Draco insisted on going alone. There were clearly some things that needed to be talked through and Harry knew better than to impose on the Malfoy-Black family.

The mediwitch came by the following morning after Draco had tried to make a point of changing into a pressed white shirt, black slacks and an emerald robe that was just big enough to cover his baby bump without the use of concealment charms. Harry had stared at him from their joint hospital bed with a sort of yearning in his eyes that Draco couldn’t place, he’d leant in on shaky legs and pressed a quick kiss to Harry’s lips before being whisked away by a Healer and mediwitch, leaving Harry breathless and, embarrassingly, half-hard.

Hermione and Ginny came along later in the afternoon, settling in to let Harry spend some time with Teddy and chat about how things were going. Ron’s work had gotten busy again and Hermione seemed to be a little resentful about that, but in her short absence to the bathroom Ginny had said it was just pregnancy hormones. Harry thought he might be able to understand that. Draco had more courage than sense sometimes, it was a wonder how he wasn’t a Gryffindor.

“How is he, anyway?” Ginny spoke up after a moment, cocking her head as she asked about Draco with a hint of concern in her expression. Hermione came back into the room, nodding along with her as she settled beside Teddy who’d begun crawling across the sheets towards her.

“He’s okay, I think. I hope he can sort things out with his mother, he seemed pretty anxious about it all.” Harry said quietly, chewing on his lip as he looked at the clock. He’d been gone for over two hours now and Harry was starting to feel restless without his Omega by his side, “I don’t like him being away for so long.” He added, voicing the thought as he picked at a loose thread on the sheets.

“He cares about you so much more than he lets on, you know.” Hermione said absentmindedly, pinching Teddy’s cheeks and Harry wanted to push her, ask what she meant, but the door was opening Draco’s scent flooding Harry’s senses. He breathed an audible sound of relief,

“You’re back.” He said with a smile, watching as the Healer guided him back into bed with a watchful eye and a worried expression on her face.

“We’re going to give you an IV, just for now, you’ve lost a lot of energy.” The Healer spoke up before Draco could reply, pulling the sheets back and helping him lay down beside Harry. Hermione and Ginny nodded and thanked the Healer as Harry became lost in Draco’s scent, staring at his blank expression carefully, inquisitively. He didn’t look sad, maybe confused, lost, but not sad.

“Are you doing okay? Do you feel alright?” Harry asked, gently carding his fingers into Draco’s hair, massaging his scalp to try and bring him back down. Something wasn’t quite right. He limply gave his arm up to the Healer, squeezing his eyes shut as he let her slide the needle under his skin and into a vein. Harry hummed his encouragement, sharing a frown with Hermione and Ginny before bundling Teddy up and moving to leave them with concerned nods.

“There, all done,” The Healer stepped back, once the IV was secured, patting his wrist gently, a sad smile on her face, “Look after him Mr Potter, I think he needs some time alone with his Alpha.” She added earnestly, not letting on to whatever had happened in the couple hours Draco and he had been apart. She left quietly, locking the door after her and leaving the room in silence again.

“Draco?” Harry tried again, shuffling down the sheets to lay with his head on the pillow, gently cradling Draco’s neck with his right hand.

“I don’t think she remembers me.” Draco finally whispered, his voice cracked and raspy. Harry swallowed, running his thumb along Draco’s cheekbone, “She looked at me like I was a stranger. I don’t think she remembers me.” He repeated, still staring blankly at Harry’s collarbones peeking out over his shirt. Harry realised that Draco must’ve changed back into his hospital gown on the way back here and it almost had him growling at the Healers for stalling for time on their way back to see his  _ Alpha _ . Draco needed his  _ Alpha _ . 

“Did she say anything?” Harry asked gently, sliding his leg between Draco’s as he brought them closer again, stomach bumping against Draco’s swollen tummy. Draco’s eyes cleared for a moment at the contact, blinking at Harry like it was the first time he was seeing him since he’d come into the room.

“I told her I was pregnant. She said congratulations.” Draco swallowed, breathing heavily for a moment to gather his thoughts, “Then she told me how she’d felt when she was pregnant with her son, how worried she’d been when he turned out to be an Omega. She said she missed him.” Harry closed his eyes for a brief moment, drawing Draco into his chest to hug him, swallowing the lump in his throat, “But  _ I’m _ her son, Harry,  _ I’m _ Draco. Why doesn’t she  _ remember _ me?” He questioned, voice shaking as he grasped at Harry’s shirt, tears pricking his eyes as he tried to explain without crying. Harry was silent for a moment, Draco sobbing quietly in his arms and Harry knew he needed this, to just cry for a while.

“Sometimes bad things happen to good people, Draco.” Harry said gently, holding him in his arms and wishing he had the power to fix things for him, “Don’t blame her for this, she still loves you so much, you’re just not the person she once knew.” He was relying on the bond to get through to Draco now, knowing that whatever Draco wanted to hear would be shown through the bond.

“But I was  _ there _ , right in front of her.” Draco sobbed, choking on a hiccup as he curled into Harry’s chest, deeply inhaling his scent when Harry began spreading it around the room in order of comforting him. Harry stayed quiet, holding Draco as he cried, fingers combing gently through his hair, nails massaging his scalp, but Draco still had that unnerving feeling in the pit of his stomach that told him this was all his fault. Alecto met him in his mother’s room, Alecto wanted to hurt  _ him _ , not his mother. So, why was she affected and he wasn’t? It wasn’t fair. He let out a rough breath, trying his best to compose himself as he was reminded that they weren’t in the comfort of their own home, but Harry was squeezing his shoulders, gently encouraging him to let out all his emotion. 

“The doors locked, the mediwitch put up silencing charms,” Harry muttered quietly, kissing his forehead, “I’ve got you, Draco.”

They returned home three days later, Teddy being the main source of Draco’s comfort and Harry didn’t mind so long as he wasn’t crying. He wasn’t eating as much, which had began to worry Harry, but the odd nutrition potions were stabilising him throughout the day. Harry accompanied him to visit his mother every other day from then onwards, holding his hand beneath his robes, reluctantly letting him go in alone as he waited in the waiting room outside.

It went on like that for a while, until Narcissa’s health worsened and Draco hadn’t seemed surprised. Somewhere deep-down he knew that he needed to let her go before she started feeling the effects of years worth of unforgivable curses. Harry quietly watched through the window one afternoon as Draco lay down beside her, his hand grasped in hers as he cried quietly. And Harry knew that this would be Draco’s last day with her. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for sticking this out with me~ The next part will be the final part! I also want to apologise for the final scene, I don't want people to think I'm rushing or overlooking Narcissa's death, but this fic was mainly made for the Drarry relationship and how they'd deal with a kid. Again, this is just fiction and I'm not looking past how others may deal with the death of a family member, grief and mourning- please keep that in mind for when the final part is released!


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